Monday, 16 February 2015

Wild mushrooms, spinach and yuzu-ed rocket



We've been relatively lucky with fresh(ish) produce and, inspired by Bouchon of Santa Barbara, we attempted to recreate "chanterelle and wild mushrooms served on watercress and spinach with a spinach purée". I am sure the name of the dish is something snazzier but we none of us can remember it.

There were substitutions of course in true duck and thyme style. Nothing too exciting or earth-shattering; the purée was made from rocket instead of spinach. I am not intolerant to spinach which is an exception to the norm, I merely wanted to use up the rocket in the fridge (egad). What we did find though is that rocket is rather stringy, so we had to put it through a sieve to achieve the desired consistency but it was yummy and most of it ended up in my mouth before it got to be "artfully" smeared with my pastry brush on the plate (not a norm but we had dinner guests..).

The mushrooms were meaty and tasty, the spinach, dressed simply, was light and fresh. The (lack of) rocket puree with it's dash of Yuzu, tied it all together. Simple but definitely worth a try!
Recipe serves four as a starter:
400gms Wild and chanterelle mushrooms were wiped with a damp cloth and fried with a little oil, salt and pepper on high heat for about 15minutes, after which half a finely diced garlic and dash of fresh thyme was added. In the mean time, in a pestle and mortar grind 20g rocket leaves with sea salt until it becomes a paste before adding half a garlic, zest and juice of half a lemon, pound then mix in 3-4 tablespoons olive oil and teaspoon of yuzu juice (stuff from heaven). Taste and adjust. Consistency should be at the smearable level, not unlike paint. In a separate bowl, dress watercress and spinach salad (100gm) with salt and olive oil. When the mushrooms are ready, tip into spinach and toss lightly. Serve on rocket purée spread on plate. Could be accompanied with grilled bread but I forgot to do so...

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